Currently known techniques to detect and/or identify pathogens and other particulates suffer from several limitations and drawbacks. For example, size or mass spectrometry techniques generate an undesirable number of false positives, and require frequent cleaning and replacement of filtration elements. Furthermore, depending on the binder or host media used as a carrier, a positive reading may indicate one of several possible pathogens. In practice, the set of possible matches may be large enough to require foreknowledge of the type of carrier in use, which generally cannot be guaranteed, especially in small-scale scenarios.
Microbiological culturing techniques generally require a significant amount of time for culturing (e.g., 24 to 72 hours), and additionally, may incur significant costs due to required media and inspections conducted by trained professionals. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays reduce the time of detection to few hours, and generally lead to fewer false positives and missed positives (false negatives). On the other hand, the requirement of PCR assay techniques for reagents and culture media, patented chemistries, and the still-significant detection time leads to requirements for support of highly skilled personnel and specialized transport, thus incurring significant costs.
All of the above mentioned techniques share the common challenge of safely, rapidly, and cost-effectively disposing of hazardous outputs generated by the detection techniques. Typically, concentrated germ/virus cultures are produced as an end product to these techniques, and disposal of these concentrated cultures is both costly and dangerous.